Mechanism for measuring yarn



Aug. 10, 1937. R. H. LAWSON MECHANISM FOR MEASURING YARN Filed Nov. 8,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jim/EH70]? ROBERT}! ZA wsm; BY T Amy I Aug. 10,1937. R. H. LAWSON MECHANISM FOR MEASURING YARN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledNov. 8, 1933 ATTY.

[NI/EH70}? JWTOBEIPZEZAWW Patented Aug. id, 1937 ra s angel FTE I@FFHQCE Application November 8, 1933, Serial No. 697,123

9 Claims.

This invention pertains to yarn measuring or yarn controlling devicesapplicable to textile machines and more particularly to knittingmachines having a plurality of feeding stations at each of which one ormore threads or yarns is or are knitted into the fabric. Theimprovements constituting this invention are, for illustrative purposes,shown as applied to the yarn furnishing or measuring mechanism shown inthe patent to Howie 1,562,829, November 24, 1925, and some of the partsshown in the drawings of the present application are duplicates of theparts shown in the said Howie patent.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view showing three adjacent feedingstations each of which is equipped with the present improvements foreffecting the knitting of uniform fabric;

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary View partly in section taken along the lineiala, Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in side elevation showing the yarnfurnishing or controlling means associated with each feeding station;

Fig. 2a is a detail view taken along the line 2a2a, Fig. 2; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the parts shown inFig. 2.

Mounted upon the frame 5 of the machine at 2, 3 and 4 are three yarncontrolling mechanisms each of which is associated with a feedingstation (not shown). As the yarn controlling mechanisms 2, 3 and t, etc.are identical, the following detailed description of one only of suchyarn controlling means will be given.

At 5 and 6 are shown two conical, intermeshing yarn furnishing wheels bythe rotating teeth of which a yarn l is drawn from its source of supplyand led to the needles of a knitting machine (not shown) in a mannerhereinafter to be more fully described. The wheel 5 is mounted on ashaft 8 and constantly rotated by gearing all as disclosed in the HowiePatent 1,562,829. The wheel 6 drives the wheel 5 through theintermeshing teeth of the two wheels, the wheel 5 being loosely mountedon a shaft or stud 9. The shaft or stud 9 and wheel 5 are mounted on onearm of a right-angled lever bracket iii which is pivoted intermediateits ends at H to an ear or lug l2 upstanding and integral with the frame5 I. The other arm of the lever IE3 adjacent to its free end it engagesunder an over-hanging bracket arm M of the bracket RE which adjal centto its other end passes through a v rtically disposed slot in the frame1 terminating in an angularly disposed toe portion or lug i6. Adja- (Cl.66l32) cent to the toe it a pin i'i passes through a longitudinallydisposed slot E8 in the bracket Hi and into a recess in the frame 5. Thepin adjacent to its inner end has an annular groove it within whichseats the end of a terminal portion of a 5 screw 2% which preventsendwise movements of the pin i? but permits rotary movements thereof.The other end of the pin ll is slotted as at 2i to be engaged by a screwdriver or other implement for the purpose of imparting turning move- 10ments to the pin H. An eccentric 22 is fixedly mounted on the shank ofthe pin ll between the head thereof and the frame i and is in engagementwith the toe or lug iii. As will be evident from an inspection of thedrawings, turn- 15 ing movements imparted to the head 25 of pin Fig. 3,will cause the eccentric 22 to engage the toe or lug i6 and move thebracket l5 downwardly within the limits of the pin and slot connectionill-48 and against. the tension of a spring 23 which bears against theupper surface of the frame l and against the under surface of the end 23of the lever i0. Turning of the eccentric 22 causes graduations 2'2thereon to register with a line or nick 22 in the frame l, or in a plateattached to and forming part of the said frame. A few only of thegraduations 22' are shown in Fig. 3 although it will be evidentthatthere may be as many graduations or divisions as desired andpermitted by the peripheral extent of the eccentric From the foregoingit is evident that fine adjustments of the intermeshing of the wheels 5and 5 can be readily effected, thus making it possible so to adjust therespective pairs of wheels 5 and fiat each of a plurality of feedingstations as initially to cause the several pairs of feeding wheels 5, 6to tend to feed the same amount of yarn to the needles at one feedingstation as at another. To readjust the position of the gear 5 withrespect to the gear 6: turning movements imparted to the shaft I? whichcause the bracket 55 to be lowered move the arm it of the lever iidownwardly and against the tension of the spring and turning movementsimparted to the shaft ii in the op- 45 pcsite direction permit thespring 23 to raise the arm 53 and maintain its upper face in contactwith the bracket i i. Prior to readjusting just described, the positionof the gear ii with respect to the gear 6, a set screw 2 is 0 turned torelease engagement thereof with the bracket l5, and subsequently to theturning of the eccentric 22 the set screw 24- is again turned to retainthe bracket !5 in the adjusted position desired. 55

Mounted upon the upper surface of the frame I is a bracket 25, an arm 26of which extends out over and beyond the gears and 5 and has attached atits end an arcuate calibrated plate or scale 21. The bracket 25 may havea porcelain or other eyelet 28 through which the yarn 7 passes from thesource of yarn supply to and between the gears 5 and 6. Mounted to turnfreely on the bracket 25 as at 29 is a disc-like element 30 to which areattached arms 3|, 32. The arms 3|, 32 are adjustably fastened to thedisc 3|] as at 33, 33. Arm 3| normally depends from the disc 3|] to sucha position as to permit the yarn to pass through an eyelet 34 in thesaid arm 3| and from there between the yarn furnishing wheels 5, 6. Theyarn 1 after leaving the wheels 5 and 6 passes through an eye 35provided in a wire arm 36 attached to the frame From the eye 35 the yarn1 passes upwardly and through an eyelet 31 carried by an arm 38adjustably fastened as at 39 to the arm 32. After passing through theeyelet 31 the yarn I is led downwardly and to the needles (not shown) ofthe knitting machine.

The bracket 25 has a recess 40 therein within which a pin 4| isreceived, the said recess limiting the movements of the pin andconsequently the swinging movements of the disc 30 to which pin 4| isattached, as indicated in Fig. 2. Attached to the pin 4| is acounter-balancing weight 42 which, when the yarn is not passing throughthe eyelet 31, causes the arm 3| to assume the dotted line position,Fig. 2.

The plate 27 is slotted as at 43 and through the slot the end of the arm32 passes, said end being turned at right angles as shown at 44 therebyto indicate to the observer readings of the scale markings on the plate21.

In utilizing the present invention, the wheels A, 5 and 6 at the severalfeeding stations are adjusted by turning eccentric 22 and moving bracketl5, as described, so that their respective teeth intermesh exactly tothe same extent. Thereafter the several yarns 1 are threaded throughtheir respective eyelets 28, 34, 35, 37 and engaged by the hooks of theneedles and knitted into the fabric. Then at one feeding station thestitch knitting cams may be adjusted (either those acting on the needlesor those acting on the sinkers) until the pointer 44 arrives at apredetermined position at which the needles are knitting the desirednumber of stitches per inch of fabric. This done the operator of themachine adjusts the stitch drawing cams at another feeding station untilthe corresponding pointer 44 gives the same reading as that shown at thefirst feeding station, the stitch drawing cams being adjusted at theremaining feeding stations in the same manner.

Ordinarily when, due to wearing of the stitch drawi g cams or othercauses or when a finer or coarser fabric is to be knitted, necessaryadjustments are efiected by changing the intermeshing of the teeth ofthe wheels 5 and 6 and/or changing the positions of the stitch drawingcams at the several feeding stations so as to knit uniform fabric. Thisfrequently requires spotting the several yarns and noting the lengths ofyarn thereafter knitted at the several feeding stations after whichappropriate adjustments of the stitch drawing cams are made to effectuniform knit ting of the several yarns at the several feeding tati ns.-

The movements of the arm 32 along the: scale markings on the plate 21cause corresponding movements of the disc 30 and arm'3l so that thethread is moved along the rolls 5 and 5 which taper toward theirouterends and as a consequence thereof when the thread 1 is in the positionshown in Fig. 2, more yarn is fed to the needles by the said rolls thanwhen the arm 3| moves to the right. Movements of the arm 3| and the yarn1 along the rolls 5 and s is brought about by adjusting the stitchdrawing cams, e. g. when the stitch drawing cams are adjusted to drawshorter stitches than before the arms such as 3| move to the right, Fig.2.

Obviously while the weight 42 serves as a convenient means for urgingthe disc 33 and arms 3|, 32 to the dotted line position, Fig. 2, othermeans such as a spring can be utilized.

Although in the foregoing description several parts have been describedmore or less specifically, it will be understood that it is not theintention to limit the invention otherwise than by the terms of theclaims themselves.

I claim:-

1. In a knitting machine having a plurality of feeding stations,intermeshing wheels for engaging the yarns and drawing the same from asource of supply, in combination with a movable yarn guiding meansthrough which the yarn is adapted to pass to and between theintermeshing wheels, means movable with the said yarn guiding means forindicating to the operator the relative rates at which two yarns arebeing fed to the needles of the knitting machine, whereby readyadjustments may be effected so that yarns fed to the needles at two ormore feeding stations shall be knitted into loops or stitches ofsubstantially the same lenght to effect the knitting of uniform fabric.

2. In a circular knitting machine of the independent needle type havinga plurality of feeding stations at each of which a yarn is knitted bythe needles of a knitting machine, opposed conical rolls or wheels forengaging yarn and drawing the same from a source of supply to be fed tothe needles of the knitting machine, a movable yarn guiding meanslocated in operative relation with respect to the rolls or wheels, meansfor relatively adjusting the wheels at each feeding station so that thesaid wheels at all of the feeding stations shall tend to draw the sameamount of yarn during the same interval of time, the amount of yarn fedto the needles at each feeding station depending upon the position ofthe yarn guiding means with respect to the conical rolls or wheels, andmeans for readily indicating to the operator which of two yarns is beingfed to the needles at the faster rate so that adjustments can be readilyeffected to knit fabric the stitches of which are of substantially thesame length to effect the knitting of uniform fabric.

3. In a knitting machine having a plurality of feeding stations,intermeshing wheels-for engaging the yarns and drawing the same from asource of supply, means for varying the degree of intermesh so thatrelative adjustment of the intermeshing wheels at each feeding stationwill cause the said intermeshing feeding wheels at the several feedingstations to tend to feed the same amount of yarn during the sameinterval of time, and a movable yarn guiding means through which theyarn is adapted to pass to and between the intermeshing wheels, means.movable with the said yarn guiding means for indicating to the operatcrthe relative rates at which two yarns are being fed to the needles ofthe knitting machine,

whereby ready adjustments may be effected so that yarns fed to theneedles at two or more feeding stations shall be knitted into loops orstitches of substantially the same length.

4. In a circular knitting machine of the independent needle type havinga plurality of feeding stations at each of which a yarn is knitted bythe needles of the knitting machine, opposed, meshing conical rolls orwheels for engaging yarn and drawing the same from a source of supply tobe fed to the needles of the knitting machine, means for varying thedegree of intermesh so that relative adjustment of the intermeshingwheels at each feeding station will cause the said intermeshing feedingwheels at the several feeding stations to tend to feed the same amountof yarn during the same interval of time, and a movable yarn guidingmeans located in operative relation with respect to the rolls or wheels,the amount of yarn fed to the needles at each feeding station dependingupon the position of the yarn guiding means with respect to the conicalrolls or Wheels, and means for readily indicating to the operator whichof two yarns is being fed to the needles at the faster rate so thatadjustments can be readily effected to knit fabric the stitches of whichare of substantially the same length.

5. In a multi-feed knitting machine pairs of opposed rotary rollsbetween which the yarns pass and by which they are drawn from the sourceof supply, means for adjusting one roll of each pair so that relativeadjustment of the rolls at each feeding station will cause the saidrolls at the several feeding stations to tend to feed the same amount ofyarn during the same interval of time, in combination with means forindicating to the operator of the machine whether or not the severalpairs of rolls are feeding the same amount of yarn so that adjustmentscan be readily made to effect the knitting of uniform fabric.

6. In a multi-feed knitting machine pairs of rotary rolls between whichthe yarns pass and by which the yarns are drawn from the source ofsupply, means for adjusting one roll of each pair so that relativeadjustment of the rolls at each feeding station will cause the saidrolls at the several feeding stations to tend to feed the same amount ofyarn during the same interval of time, movable yarn guides and meansmovable therewith for indicating to the operator of the machine whetheror not the several pairs of rolls are feeding the same amount of yarn tothe needles so that adjustments can be readily made to effect theknitting of uniform fabric.

7. Yarn feeding means for a multi-feed knitting machine containing pairsof opposed, toothed, conical rolls between which the yarns pass and bymeans of which they are drawn from the source of supply, means foradjusting one roll of each pair with respect to its companion roll sothat relative adjustment of the rolls at each feeding station will causethe said rolls at the several feeding stations to tend to feed the sameamount of yarn during the same interval of time, a movable yarn guideassociated with each pair of feeding rolls and means movable therewithindicating to the operator of the machine which pair of any two pairs ofrolls is drawing the greater amount of yarn from the source of supply sothat adjustments can be readily made to effect the knitting of uniformfabric.

8. A yarn furnishing device for knitting machines including a pair ofintermeshing, conical feeding wheels, means for varying the degree ofinterengagement between said wheels and for accurately indicating thedegree of interengagemerit, means for guiding yarn between the feedingwheels and for automatically moving the yarn axially of the feedingwheels to vary the rate of feeding in accordance with length of stitchtending to be drawn and an indicator movable therewith to indicate therelative length of stitch which is being drawn for a given setting ofthe intermeshing wheels so that adjustments can be readily made toeffect the. knitting of uniform fabric.

9. The combination in a multi-feed knitting machine of a plurality ofyarn furnishing devices, means for adjusting said devices to feeddifferent amounts of yarn and indicating means for showing when all suchdevices are set to feed like amounts, guide means for guiding the yarnto the feeding device and to knitting instrumentalities of the machine,said guide means being arranged to vary the rate at which the yarn isfed as required by the instrumentalities, an element movable with saidguide means and indicating means between which and the said movableelement there are relative movements, said indicating means beingassociated with said movable element for showing the relative rate atwhich each yarn is being taken by the said instrumentalities so thatadjustments can be readily made to effect the knitting of uniformfabric.

ROBERT H. LAWSON.

